Into the Lion's Den
by Sapphire1112
Summary: Based on 'Life License' a different take on the ending. I do not own the characters or the episode.
1. Chapter 1

If I said I didn't see this coming, I'd be lying. I knew there was something _off_ about Oliver Bright.

And I _knew_ I was right.

I also _knew_ that Sasha was in danger – that Oliver would go after her and her family. I can't deny that it's part of the reason I went to her house. That will make Jack angry later, but I can't deny it. I put myself in danger again, but as far as I'm concerned, _it_ _was the right thing to do._

I wanted to talk to her – to ask her about Oliver, but I could have done it over the phone. I'm not trying to be a hero, this is my job. Sure, I don't often get a live one, but I'm a _doctor_ and I _save lives_ – even when it's just giving somebody dignity in death and their families closure in knowing how they really died. _Sometimes_ in finding out how someone died, I can save others. I'm a doctor. _It's what I do_. I did the right thing – and I'd do it again.

So, I went to Sasha's house, knowing the murderer was probably on his way there too.

 _I knew I was walking into the Lion's den._

 **At Sasha's house...**

Sasha is shocked by my suggestion.

"What, you think _Oliver_ did this? That doesn't make any sense."

Maybe not, but I'm so sure. "Could Oliver have hidden his _true_ reasons for killing Charles Moore?"

Sasha doesn't look convinced. "He would have had to mask _all_ his symptoms _from the start_. The psychometrics, assessments, _all_ my work with him..."

I know I'm right though. I've worked it all out. It can _only_ be Oliver Bright, so I push the matter. "But is it possible?"

Sasha doesn't answer straight away. She considers the possibility. "His rehabilitation wouldn't have been addressing the reasons he killed." She answers eventually. She fears _I'm right_ about Oliver.

"So he wouldn't have been getting any better, but he _could_ have been getting worse."

I'm interrupted by the doorbell and we hear the police guard open the door – but then there's a _thud_. Sasha pushes me towards the sofa where her mum and Max are sitting and goes out into the hall. For a while, there's just silence, but _then_ we hear Oliver Bright.

"Who else is here?"

Sasha backs into the living room, Oliver is pursuing her.

"My mum, my little boy, Dr Alexander..." She whispers. "It's ok. She just came to see how I was, she's a _friend_." Sasha adds hurriedly, seeing Oliver give me a _menacing_ look. There's no need to ask what happened to the police guard. Oliver is covered in blood and there's a knife in his hand.

 _I think we could be next._


	2. Chapter 2

Jack wasn't interested when I tried to talk to him earlier, he just said he was too busy. I told Clarissa I was going to see Sasha and _she's_ aware of my suspicions about Oliver, but no one else seemed to share my view and as far as I know, they all still _think_ Oliver is in the hospital, so there's no one to help us.

They all still suspect poor Bennett. Only Sasha, her mum, Max and I know who the killer _really_ is – and this could end badly.

 _For all of us._

"Shall we just talk about this, Oliver?" I say, stepping in front of Sasha – though she does her best to stop me. "You're a good man – you didn't want to hurt those people, did you? _Charles Moore_ started this, not you."

"He shouldn't have hurt my mum." Oliver mutters, gripping the knife tightly.

"No. _He shouldn't have._ " I agree. "But _you_ shouldn't have killed those other people either." I add firmly.

I catch my breath as he gives me another menacing look. Maybe that last comment was a mistake.

 _Anyone would think I had a death wish._

I can only hope that when it's discovered that Oliver has disappeared from hospital, Clarissa will mention my suspicions about him and where I've gone – and that Jack will figure the whole thing out in time – otherwise we're all done for.

Once again, My life – our lives are in the hands of the Lyell. Jack's hands. They've never let me down.

"You're a _good_ man, Oliver." I repeat, hoping to calm the volatile situation. "Even good men make _mistakes_."

"Yes." He eventually nods. "Killing the others was a _mistake_."

"Yes, that's right. You don't need to hurt anyone else, do you?" I say. I just _need_ him to put the knife down.

 _Jack is going to be furious with me._

 **Meanwhile at the Lyell...**

" _What the hell is she doing?_ "

"I don't know, Jack." Thomas answered, turning to Clarissa. "You said she suspected Oliver Bright _before_ he disappeared from hospital?"

"Yes. I mean she must have _known_ he would go after Sasha, _surely?_ " Clariissa nodded.

Jack laughed bitterly. " _Of course,_ she bloody did!" He retorted furiously. "That's _why_ she went!"

"But that's insane!" Clarissa was indignant.

Thomas sighed. "No. That's Nikki!"

Jack suddenly spun around angrily to face the older woman. "Why the _hell_ didn't you stop her?!"

"w...what?" She looked completely taken aback.

He jabbed his finger at her accusingly. " _You_ _knew_ that Nikki suspected Oliver Bright – and _you knew_ she was going to Sasha's house. _You_ could have stopped her, then she'd be here – _safe!_ "

"Jack...I'm sorry...I..."

Thomas stepped between the two of them, facing the raging man. "Whoa. Jack, just _stop_ , ok? It's not Clarissa's fault. Besides, have _you_ ever managed to stop Nikki from doing what she wants? You know _better than anyone_ , how stubborn she can be!"

Jack dropped into his desk chair, his chest still heaving from his anger. "Sorry." He muttered to Clarissa.

"It's ok." She moved around Thomas and comfortingly put her hand on Jack's shoulder. "I'm sorry that I _couldn't_ stop her, but Jack, I didn't _believe_ _her_ about Oliver Bright. I didn't take her seriously – and neither did you."

"No" He muttered in agreement. He had overheard her voicing her suspicions to Clarissa earlier and had been _extremely_ sceptical – scoffing when Clarissa had mentioned it to him. He _hadn't_ taken Nikki seriously, but she was right – as so often was the case, and now she had undoubtedly put herself in danger – _again!_ Actually, now he came to think of it, Nikki had been _trying_ to tell him herself at one point – but he had been so wrapped up in what he was doing and had told her to _'_ _go away_ _'_ because he was too busy. She had gone away, all right.

 _Straight into the Lion's Den._

"But _why_ would she go to Sasha's house if she knew that _Sasha_ could be in danger?" Thomas interjected, breaking into Jack's misery. It was a very 'Nikki' thing to do – but he still didn't understand _why_ she would do that.

"Maybe she wanted to warn Sasha?" Clarissa shrugged.

Jack groaned loudly, covering his face with his hands. "She could have done that _over the phone!_ "

"Then why didn't she?" Thomas retorted.

" _Because,_ that's not how Nikki does things, is it?" Jack exclaimed throwing his hands up in despair. " _Heaven forbid_ , she should take the easy option – the one that _won't get her killed!_ " Standing up abruptly, he yanked his coat off the back of his chair – knocking the chair over in the process. "I'm going down there."

Thomas touched the younger man's arm. "Jack, how will that help..."

" _I'm going down there._ " Jack snapped back, his Irish accent coming across thick and fast – as it often did when he was in a highly emotional state.

"Ok, Jack. Ok." Thomas sighed, picking the chair up and replacing it behind Jack's desk. "I'm coming with you. Just try and calm down though – it won't help Nikki if you charge in there like a bull in a china shop!"

When the two of them got there, the armed police were swarming – ready to charge into the house. They knew there was an officer down which added to chaotic order of things – and the frenzied atmosphere was none too quiet.

No doubt Oliver Bright had already been alerted to their presence. It was a _shambles,_ Jack thought bitterly, if anything happened to Nikki, he would make damn sure that none of them ever worked again.

 _He would_. As sure as the day he was born.

"Ah, Dr Chamberlain. Jack." DS Mitchell commented, crouching down beside them behind their car. "I'm glad you're here..."

"Nikki better be ok. You better hope she is – your men are making _far_ to much noise...!" Jack interrupted through gritted teeth.

"Jack!" Thomas said warningly.

"Jack, I understand you are worried about your friend..." Mitchell began, "But there is a child in there..."

"Then why are you making so much bloody noise?!" Jack interrupted again – receiving a second warning from his boss.

" _Jack!_ "

He grunted irritably in response and turned away. Thomas turned to Mitchell. "What's the situation?"

"The last communication we received from our officer inside the house before the radio silence was when Dr Alexander arrived. It suggested there were four other people in the house at the time. Obviously, we now know Oliver Bright is also in the house and he has injured our officer – we don't know _how badly_. As it stands, we have _Bright_ in the house with _our officer_ and _four other_ hostages – Sasha Blackburn, her mother, her little boy and Dr Alexander. As of yet we don't know whether Bright has _hurt_ anyone else in there..." He trailed off...

 _The front door had opened._


	3. Chapter 3

_Oliver Bright had indeed been alerted to the armed mob outside._

I hear a commotion outside. It's a relief. Jack must have come through _again_ for me. No matter how _annoyed_ he is, - and I have _no doubt_ he will be annoyed with me when I see him again, but I knew he wouldn't let me down. My relief is short-lived though.

I realise that Oliver has heard the noise too.

I see him lurch at Sasha and immediately the three other hostages force their way to the fore-front of my mind. _I have to get them out._ I roughly push myself in between Sasha and Oliver. He loses his balance momentarily but regains it and grabs me instead of Sasha as the four of us make our bid for freedom. Some of my relief is reinforced. They made it to safety. The three of them are unharmed.

 _But I am in peril._

 **Outside...**

Jack pushed past Thomas and DS Mitchell as the three figures were escorted to the ambulance amid Detective Snow trying to get a read on the situation inside.

" _Nikki?_ Where is she?" Jack demanded of Sasha, rudely pushing Snow out of his way.

"In the house, she took my place – let us escape." Sasha answered.

" _What the hell is she doing?!_ " He yelled in despair.

"No, Jack, it's not like _that_." Sasha said quickly, attempting to soothe the terrified man in front of her. "Oliver – he lurched at me with the knife when he heard the police. Nikki pushed him to stop him from hurting me and _we all ran_ – but he grabbed her instead of me as we were leaving. I'm _sorry_." She looked accusingly at Snow - and Mitchell who had just joined them. " _She was getting somewhere._ He was going to give her the knife before _you_ arrived."

" _You bloody idiots!_ " Jack growled, storming back to the car and staring at the house, ready to charge in if he heard Nikki screaming. He only hoped she would get the chance – unlike Oliver's previous victims. No one had heard them in time.

 **Inside the house...**

"Don't struggle. Don't struggle. I don't want to hurt you – you remind me of my wife."

Somehow that statement does _little_ to comfort me – he killed his wife too and actually, I'm not sure _how_ I remind him of her. We don't look anything like each other – for one thing she was brunette and I'm blonde. But the attack on his wife was not driven by rage. He had to 'force' himself to hurt her and I'm not in the position to argue at the moment, so I'll take whatever leverage I can get. Sasha and her family are safe. It's me I have to worry about now.

"Do I?" I whisper.

"Yes. She was beautiful too. She looked after me." He pulls me closer and I can smell his aftershave. That's not all I can smell. I can smell blood too – the officer's blood. His latest kill. The very thought sickens me, but this could be my way out.

"I'll look after you..." I whisper. Have I really just agreed to take his dead wife's place? I feel even more sick now. Is this really what I've got myself into? What if he thinks I mean it and I end up having to go away with him – looking after a murderer for the rest of my life. Living the life his wife had. He pulls me down with him, so he's sitting with his back against the wall and my back is pressed against his chest. I can feel the blood soaking off his shirt through mine – it's still warm and it revolts me. I'll have to chuck this shirt away – it'll never come clean.

For a few horrendous minutes, I favour death. This whole situation makes me want to die. I want him to kill me, so that I don't have to face life with him, but then, Oliver's plan becomes clear – and I long for the opposite..

"I'd like that. Just you and me...but not _here_." He whispers back, raising the knife to my throat. "First you. Then me."

He covers my eyes and I feel the sharp blade by my throat. My neck is slightly wet, but I'm not sure if it's a little blood or whether I'm sweating profusely from fear. It suddenly dawns on me that I may not ever see my best friend again and the next time he sees me, I could be ready for the cutting room. The realisation shocks me and it's just too much for me to cope with. I burst into tears before I can stop myself.

" _Jack!_ "

I feel Oliver tense up at the mention of another man's name.

" _Jack_!" I sob again.

I know it's dangerous – the knife grows ever sharper against my neck, but I just can't stop. I'm sobbing loudly now. My fear has completely overwhelmed me. I can't focus on anything except Jack. His anger and devastation.

 _Anger and devastation._


	4. Chapter 4

**Outside...**

Jack watched the house in devastation. He could hear a noise – it was _definitely Nikki,_ but she wasn't screaming. She was crying – _sobbing_ and there was the sound of definite fear in her sobs. He wanted to charge in there, but he was terrified of what he might find – afraid of making things worse.. Afraid that if he just burst in Nikki would have no chance of getting out of there alive.

 _Why the hell did Nikki have to get herself intto this?_

Little did he know that the knife was already against her throat.

 **Inside the house...**

I'm still sobbing Jack's name and shaking with fear, which doesn't help me stay alive because up to now, the knife has dug in to my neck more and more – the more I shake.

Oliver still has his hand over my eyes, but I can't feel the knife any more.

 _I think this is it._

He's moved the knife away, ready to cut my throat in one swift movement and I'm ready for it. Ready for the end.

 _Who am I kidding? I'll never be ready. I want Jack._

But the knife never comes back. Instead I feel wet spray on the side of my face – my neck and Oliver's hand drops away from my eyes. It drops limply to his side. His other arm is limp too – the bloodied knife still in his hand.

He's cut his throat.

I sit frozen, like a museum statue for longer than I care to admit, then I stagger to my feet – stagger out the room.

 _Without looking back._

 **Outside...**

 _Everything had gone quiet._

"It doesn't mean she's dead, Jack." Thomas said quietly – trying to reassure him, but Jack was inconsolable.

The police were getting ready to storm Sasha's house. Jack and Thomas just stared in shock. Jack was absolutely devastated. That bastard had killed Nikki – _he'd actually killed her._ He must have – she was far to quiet now. Jack was going to kill Oliver Bright when he came out. Make no mistake – and the police officers who'd been making all that noise, they were for it too. Them too and he didn't care if he got caught, they could lock him up for it. It didn't matter, nothing mattered any more – because Nikki was dead.

 _And someone was going to pay._

"We have movement." One of the officers suddenly yelled.

They all waited with baited breath – guns at the ready. Ready for Oliver coming out, covered in Nikki's blood.

The door opened wider and Jack's battered heart leapt into his mouth. It wasn't Oliver, it was Nikki.

 _She was alive._

"Oh, thank God!" Thomas exclaimed, exhaling deeply as Jack pushed _everyone_ and _everything_ out of his way to get to her.

He charged up the steps, ignoring the pointed guns. Nikki collapsed against his side, sobbing again.

" _Why don't you ever listen?!_ " Jack almost yelled at her, as he did every time she put herself in danger – regardless of the situation and whether he'd actually tried to talk her out of it in the first place. In this case he hadn't, because he hadn't listened to her when she was trying to tell him earlier.

 _Part of him knew: it was just as much his fault as hers._

"I'm sorry" She whispered. As they got to the bottom step – with Jack practically propping her up, Mitchell and Snow were there bombarding her with the question they all wanted answering.

" _Oliver?_ "

"Dead." She whispered again. "He cut his throat."

"Right, that's enough! She's told you what you want to know – now _leave her alone_!" Jack snapped roughly, manoeuvring her away from them to the ambulance – where Thomas and Sasha were waiting. Nikki was shaking violently from a mixture of fear, shock and relief, and Jack could tell her legs were like paper and were not holding her up properly.

"He was going to kill me...he had the knife by my throat...it was...digging in...he...wanted me to replace his wife – was going to kill me, then himself, so we would be together..." Nikki stammered, once she was sat in the back of the ambulance, wrapped in a blanket – the paramedics tending to her cut neck. "He was going to kill me." She repeated. "He covered my eyes...I was so scared and I just started crying"

"I know – we heard you." Jack said quietly.

"I thought I'd made him more angry but I just couldn't stop – it was like _someone else was crying._ I was sure that was it – but then his hand fell away from my eyes and I realised that he'd cut his own throat."

"We thought you were dead when you stopped crying." Jack whispered.

"I'm really sorry."

"Shush. I'm not going to shout at you now – because I'm just so happy that you're alive..." Jack told her. He would wait until she was safely alone with her friends. "...but you're going to get a massive lecture later!" He retorted.

 _She was. A bloody huge one!_


End file.
